This invention pertains to hair accessory devices, and more particularly, to decorative hair accessories which may be used to create ponytails or more unusual hair styles.
Numerous devices are known for styling hair. One common type of device comprises an elastic band which may be used to encircle a bundle of hair to create a ponytail. A problem with this device is that it must often be encircled around a bundle of hair two or three times. Once it is tightly encircled around a bundle of hair, numerous hairs tend to get caught within its circles. Consequently, it is difficult to remove the device without also removing a quantity of hair.
Other devices clip onto, or around, a bundle of hair. The most common of these devices is the barrette. A problem with these devices is that the clip is not adjustable for use with different size bundles and thicknesses of hair. As a result, a barrette may work fine with an average size bundle of medium-weight hair, but the same barrette may have too large and cumbersome of a clip to be used on a bundle of fine child's hair. The barrette may also have too small of a clip to engage a large bundle of extremely dense hair.
Another common hair accessory device comprises a flexible member which may encircle different size bundles and weights of hair. However, the majority of these devices comprise resilient, preformed elements which are only amenable to creating a limited number of hair styles.
A small number of the flexible member devices are moldable into various shapes, thus having an advantage over other devices in that they may be used to create a greater number of hair styles. These moldable devices are often called twist-ties. Twist-ties consist of a wire core which is covered with paper or fabric. Despite their styling advantages, twist-ties present many problems. A first problem is that paper and fabric coverings are subject to wrinkling and/or tearing, thus making a twist-tie unattractive after only a few uses. A second problem is that the wire core of the twist-tie has very sharp ends. Over time, the ends of the wire tend to poke through its paper or fabric covering. Not only does this result in an undesirable product which must be thrown away, but it also results in a condition which is dangerous to children and others, as the sharp wire ends can easily pierce a user's skin.
In view of the above state of the art, it is therefore a primary object of this invention to create a hair accessory device which will cling to any type or amount of hair.
It is a further object of this invention to create a hair accessory device which is not likely to be lost due to accidental disengagement from a bundle of hair to which it is attached.
It is yet another object of this invention to create hair accessory device comprising a wire core, wherein frequent use of the device will not cause the wire core to poke through the material which encases the wire.